2. Two Winds Meet

Author's Notes: I am sorry for the delay on any new chapters for stories, After I did Time, I did some work on Flesh To Metal Version 1B (Still need to finish Chapter 5 for that) and then just lost all motivation to write Naruto for a week. Still don't have any really, but I'm hoping finally getting this Avatar story up and running helps. Slaps Cheeks Twice Alright, let's do this! Smacks Leroy Jenkins Away And you stay quiet!

Story Start: Southern Water Tribe

The figure's foot made temporary residence in Zuko's face breaking his nose before the prince was sent flying over Sokka's head. As Zuko landed with a cry of pain, the figure looked at Sokka and grinned as he held a hand out to him and said "Hey Sokka, you miss me?"

Sokka clasped his hand in the one Naruto offered with a grin and as he was pulled up to his feet he said "Naruto, am I glad to see you!" He looked at the horse sized Kyubi and gave a nod of greeting as he said "Fur Coat."

"Meatbag." Kyubi said with a mirrored nod. With the others, Katara rolled her eyes even as her lips twitched upwards. Kyubi and Sokka had had a rough start true, but not counting their year long separation it had been months since they insulted each other like that.

Any further conversation was going to have to wait as Zuko quickly sprung up to his feet, left hand coming up to his nose. Naruto was slightly impressed when the teen in front of him re set his nose almost on reflex showing he had least some modicum of medical training. Zuko though was just about ready to spit actual fire as he demanded "Who in Agni's name are you?!"

Naruto smirked and said "Name's Naruto Uzumaki kid, Jounnin of the Hidden Leaf Shinobi Village and as of sixty seconds ago your worst nightmare."

"Guess that makes me the monster in his closet then." Kyubi said, and the grin showing off his sharp teeth he gave Zuko had the boy instinctively taking a half step back.

"Why is a Spirit partnering with a human?" Zuko asked in confusion. Seriously, what was a Jounnin? Or a Shinobi for that matter?

"That's for us to know and you to spend several sleepless nights agonizing over." Naruto said, smirk still in place.

Zuko growled and threw a punch, a ball of fire coming out of his fist. A ball which Naruto negligently slapped apart, a burst of wind accompanying the action. Zuko's eyes widened at the wind before they narrowed and he said lowly "So you're the one I've been searching for all this time, the Avatar." His eyes then turned confused as he asked "Aren't you supposed to be over a hundred years old?"

Crossing his arms, Naruto made a buzzing sound and said "Bzzzzt, WRONG! I ain't no pacifistic Air Nomad little kid, do you see any arrow tattoos on me anywhere?" He reached up and undid his headband and even took off his burnt orange and black jacket, tying the sleeves around his waist and showing off his blank forehead and clear arms, his tracker seal having faded away now that it wasn't in use.

Zuko scowled and said "But you can air bend."

"That's not bending kid, that's ninjutsu." Naruto said, amusement shining in his eyes.

"Which is clearly just some word you made up for bending, and stop calling me KID!" Zuko roared as he lashed out with a much larger blast of fire.

As the fire approached him, Naruto actually raised his right hand to his mouth and said "Yawn." The next instant, his left hand flicked forward and a gust of wind shot under the fire blast causing it to angle upwards, clearing Naruto's head by a solid three feet. Giving an actual yawn, Naruto gazed at Zuko with half lidded eyes and said "I'll stop calling you kid when you introduce yourself like a polite person would have after I told you my name."

The Fire bender in front of him growled and said "I am Prince Zuku of the Fire Nation." He tightened the stance he was in a little bit more and his eyes narrowed as he said "And I'm the one who's going to capture you Avatar."

Naruto sighed to himself and shook his head as he said "I told you before prince, if that is your actual title, I'm NOT the Avatar."

Zuko scowled furiously at the blond in front of him doubting his title only for their little stare down to end as Naruto's eyes flicked to the side and he smirked. Zuku's stare turned confused and he glanced sideways only for a gust of wind to knock into his side and hurl him a clean dozen feet before landing in the snow and sliding another three.

"Aang!" Katara said happily as the bald kid came sliding on a penguin, staff out.

Quickly hopping off the penguin which waddled off without a care in the world, Aang said "Sorry I'm late, I turned back as soon as I saw the ship. What'd I miss?"

"Oh, just some high and mighty jerk getting taken down a few pegs by a friend of ours." Sokka said, gesturing at Naruto with a smirk.

Aang looked in the direction Sokka was gesturing before his eyes widened and he zoomed over towards Naruto and Kyubi, stopping in front of Kyubi with stars in his eyes as he asked "Is that a giant fox with nine tails?! So COOL!"

Kyubi smirked and puffed up just a little as he said "The kid obviously can tell quality when he sees it."

"And it talks too?! That is AWESOME!" Aang said, the stars in his eyes growing even brighter.

Naruto huffed in amusement at that before his attention turned towards Zuko as he leapt back up to his feet, actually snorting fire out of his nose at this point as he stomped forward with rage in his eyes. But as soon as he got close enough to see Aang from around Naruto and Kyubi, he came to a sudden stop spying the tattoos on the kid's arms and head and said lowly to himself "Arrow Tattoos." Eyes narrowing, he said "Hey you, kid! Are you an Air Bender?"

"Yes, why?" Aang asked, looking over in confusion.

"So that means that you're the Avatar." Zuko said with a snarl as his hands lit up with fire.

Aang flinched back, eyes looking everywhere, as if looking for an escape route while the watching Southern Water Tribe members all murmured amongst themselves. Sokka gave the kid a confused look and said "That little guy, the Avatar?"

Zuko though wasn't finished, his look once more gaining a confused aspect as he asked "You're supposed to be a hundred years old, why are you even younger than the other Air Bender?"

Aang glanced at Naruto excitedly and asked "You're an Air Bender as well?!"

Naruto shrugged and said "Not quite, but close enough I guess." He made a gesture with his right wrist and a small tornado briefly surrounded him.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Zuko barked out.

Aang flinched, glancing back at Zuko with hesitant eyes while Naruto sighed and said "Okay, this is getting tiresome. Kyubi, is this the kid those Previous Avatars told us to look after when we were in the Spirit Realm?"

"He sure looks like the image they showed me." Kyubi said, giving Aang a once over who was in turn staring at the two in stunned surprise. Zuko was now looking even more confused, unable to follow what was going on.

"Right then." Naruto said, turning back to Zuko and said "Well prince, it's been fun, but I'm afraid playtime's over." The blond shot forward faster than the people around them could track, picked the kid up in both hands and with a loud cry of "Alley-ooop!" threw the kid like a javelin up onto the prow of his ship, a sealless Gale Palm Jutsu making sure he traveled that far.

Zuko let out a surprised yell as he was thrown, landing a bit roughly on the metal deck of his ship. He yet again lurched back up to his feet, spinning around in fury only for him and everyone else aboard the ship to pale as Kyubi grew to a hundred feet tall. The great kitsune bared his teeth in a vulpine grin as he put his front right paw on the now tiny looking ship's ramp and with a squeal of protesting metal put it back into its upright position. He then leaned down, causing more than one sailor to piss themselves in fear and the metal hull to again creak dangerously as Kyubi said "I strongly suggest you leave this place little man, and never come back. It wouldn't take much for me to sink this little rowboat of yours after all." To emphasize his point, Kyubi's hand like paw clenched on the prow and it crumpled with another tortured squeal, now looking like nothing more than a crumpled soda can. With a dismissive huff, Kyubi pushed the ship out into the water, causing most of the men aboard the ship to lurch off of their feet.

Understandably, as soon as the sailors were back on their feet they were quick to begin turning the ship and getting the hell out of there. Zuko continued staring in the direction of the village until the ship had turned enough to take it out of his sight, anger and hate in his eyes.

He is soon joined by his uncle. After a few moments of silence Iroh said "This must be called in. With the Avatar apparently given a Spirit bodyguard along with a second Air Bender partner who is clearly more combative than the pacifistic Air Nomads, we do not have the necessary strength to capture the Avatar."

"I know that Uncle, but I fear that my Father will see us gathering such a large force to capture him as not fulfilling the requirements to regain my honor." Zuko said with a severe frown.

"You leave your father to me Nephew, I will make him see the truth. For now, I suggest you meditate on what you have learned." Iroh said as he clapped a hand on his nephew's shoulder for a moment before he turned to walk away. He paused for a moment though as he said "Speaking of, it seems that we are quite fortunate that the Avatar is still somehow a child, that shall make things easier for us, regardless of the ones the previous Avatars have seemingly sent to guide him."

"Yes, that is true I suppose, but I can't help but wonder WHY he is still so young." Zuko said, still looking out at the ocean before him.

"It would not be the first time someone has seemed to have not aged as they should have." Iroh mused to himself.

"Uncle?" Zuko asked, turning around to look at him in confusion.

Iroh looked over his shoulder at his nephew and said "There have long been rumors that there was an advanced Water Bending technique that could preserve someone for long periods of time, encasing them in Ice. However, such a technique would be incredibly hard to perform correctly, especially on oneself, and it would require a great deal of trust that someone would end the technique lest the affected person remained frozen indefinitely. However, if anyone would be able to perform such an action to preserve their life through dire times, it would be a person who has access to several generations of Master Benders."

Zuko's expression turned ponderous as he said "So the reason why no one has seen the Avatar in a hundred years isn't because he was a coward hiding away from the world, but because he froze himself and there was no one around to break him out of the ice until now?"

"It certainly would explain things wouldn't it? Though one has to wonder what happened all of those years ago for such an act to be necessary." Iroh said, turning his gaze back forward and walking away.

Zuko watched him walk away before he turned back to look out at sea again. After a few moments of silence, Zuko said to himself "The past doesn't matter, all that matters is catching the Avatar in the present."

Scene Change: Back At The Southern Water Tribe

The members of the Southern Water tribe cheered when the Fire Nation ship didn't come back towards their village and instead turned around and made best possible speed away. Aang though was looking up at Kyubi, his eyes practically stars as he said near breathlessly (oh the irony) "And he can change his size too?!"

Naruto smirked as he said "Yep. Normally when we're traveling he stays around the size of an average horse. When we're around others though..." Kyubi leapt up into the air in a relatively short hop, shrinking at the apex of his jump into the size of a normal adult fox, a stream of red chakra streaming down into the seal, easily landing on Naruto's shoulders, the blond not even shifting as he continued "He takes a much more manageable size."

"Why did all of that energy leave him and go into you?" Aang asked in confusion.

Naruto lifted his shirt and channeled some chakra, making the seal on his torso appear as he said "It's a REALLY long story that I can tell you at a later time but the long and short of it is that we are spiritually linked together. When Kyubi's not in Kaiju mode, his energy is shared between the both of us. Think of me as a travel pack holding all of the goods until needed."

"Huh. Don't take this the wrong way, but I really hope the full story explains things a little better." Aang said, scratching his head.

Naruto chuckled and said "I'll try." He gave a slight shift in his shoulders and Kyubi easily leapt onto Aang's shoulder startling a short laugh from the kid before snuggling into Kyubi's warm fur while Naruto retied his forehead protector then put his jacket back on and said "By the way, we NEED to get you some proper gear. That type of cloth you use may have been alright back at your temple but it is NOT all terrain rated."

"Yeah, it does feel a little bit cold around here." Aang said, giving a small shiver before he smiled and said "But don't worry, I used to meditate under a waterfall for an hour with the other Air Nomad Monks even in winter, I should be alright for a bit longer."

Naruto let out a hum before he frowned and said "Aang, when Kyubi spoke to the Previous Avatars while we were in the Spirit Realm, they said that you were stuck in ice for a hundred years. Did...did anyone tell you what has been happening while you were gone?"

Aang's expression dropped, as did his eyes as he said "Yeah, Katara told me. There's been a massive war for the last hundred years." Looking back up at Naruto with determined eyes, he said "That's why, as soon as Appa recovers, I'm going back to the Southern Air Temple to check up on the monks there."

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before he sighed. Glancing over at the Water Tribe members, he put an arm around Aang's torso and said "We'll be back in a bit."

Sokka and Katara's Gran nodded solemnly and said "Of course, take all of the time you need."

Sokka looked confused for a moment but then his expression turned to understanding and he frowned while Katara looked at Aang worriedly. Aang only had a moment to see that though before the pair of wind users and Kyubi vanished in a whirlwind of leaves.

The pair reappeared ten miles inland and Aang put a hand to his head as he said "Whoa, what was that?"

"Shushin, a high speed technique my people developed." Naruto said.

"Huh, cool." Aang said. He looked around in confusion and asked "Uh, why'd you use it?"

"Because if you're anything like other people you're about to get really destructive and there's nothing out here we have to worry about keeping in one piece." Naruto said.

"Naruto, what are you talking about? You're really starting to worry me you know." Aang said, a large frown forming on his face.

Naruto took a deep breath as he closed his eyes again. Opening them and letting out the breath in a large sigh, Naruto said "Aang, there's no gentle way of saying something like this. You won't find any Air Nomads at the Southern Temple, or any of the other three temples. In the opening act of the war Fire Lord Sozen and his Fire Benders used the proximity of a comet to super charge their Fire Bending and proceeded to kill every man, woman, and child of the Air Nomads."

"Wh-what?!" Aang asked with wide eyes.

Kyubi hopped off of Aang's shoulders, growing big enough to stand eye to eye with the pre teen, and said "Aang, Naruto and I have spent the last year traveling across the globe. We kept our eyes and ears open but found no trace of Air Nomads. I'm sorry, but you are the last Airbender left."

"N-no, you're wrong." Aang said, shaking his head furiously even as his eyes watered. A few spluttered denials later, the sadness turned into rage as Aang shouted "YOU'RE LYING!" Aang's tattoos lit up in blue light, his mouth and eyes doing the same as he threw his head back and let out a wordless yell of pain and anger, a massive tornado whipping up around them as he began floating in the air.

Naruto and Kyubi stabbed large stakes of chakra into the snow beneath them in order to remain in place, the pair shielding their faces from the harsh winds and the snow it picked up. They remained in place, not backing down a single step. But as the pair weathered the storm they had brought about, across the globe shrines devoted to the Avatar began seeing activity after over a hundred years of being dormant as statues, murals, and other depictions all began glowing with matching blue light coming from their eyes. The people at each temple sent word to their various leaders: The Avatar had returned.

Back at the village, the Southern Water Tribe all watched as a massive tornado formed in the distance.

"Aang." Katara said softly, hand to her mouth.

She took a single step only to be stopped by Sokka grabbing her arm and saying "Don't even think about it Katara."

"Your brother is right Katara, it is much too dangerous to go to the young Avatar at this moment." Gran said.

"But he's hurting." Katara said.

"Yes, but even if you could reach him quick enough, he would wind up hurting you as well, and then he would feel even more upset. You may comfort him later, for now, trust that Naruto and Kyubi know what they are doing." The elder said, eyes staring at the tornado that had a pillar of light inside.

Back with the two wind users and Kyubi, the pair continued to weather the tornado, the rough winds whipping at Naruto's clothes even as they held their ground. They maintained their vigil for half an hour before the winds around them began to slowly die. As Aang lowered himself back to the ground Naruto pulled him into a hug and the lights went out on Aang's body, the young bender latching onto Naruto like a life line, large tear tracks going down his face.

"I can't believe they're all gone." Aang gasped out between sobs.

"Not all of them kit, so long as you're still alive, their legacy will continue." Kyubi said, wrapping his tails around the pair.

Naruto tightened his hold and said "Aang, I won't say that the pain will go away, but don't look to the past for so long that you forget to look to the future. Yes, you should grieve for what's lost, but remember that there are still others you can protect."

Aang nodded his head in acceptance of their words. A moment later, he pushed free of their embrace and rubbed at his eyes with his hands as he said "I will need to go to all of the Temples at some point. It might be a hundred years late, but there are last rites I should give them."

"Alright, we'll do our best to stop by each one as we travel to find you Bending Masters, but some of them may take a while to get to." Naruto said.

Aang nodded and said "I understand." He took in a deep breath then let it out in a bone weary sigh, looking down as he did so before he looked back up with determination and asked "When do we begin?"

END

Author's Notes: Sometimes I really hate my sleep cycle. Three days in a row where I if I wasn't at work then I was sleeping for roughly fifteen hours is NOT a productive use of my time. Siiiiigh. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this, I'm going to TRY and get another Naruto story chapter done, though I might shift series again, fingers crossed.

By the way, check out my profile for the poll, it has to do with that Flesh to Metal story I mentioned up top.